Water heater



W. J. TOWLES ET AL WATER HEATER May 10 1927. 1,628,341

Filed Dec. 22, 1924 INYENTORS:

WILL/19H J. Tom Les,

Euqelvz L. TOWLES,

G-eoRq-s M. TOWLES,

Patented May 10, 1927.

UNITED STATES.

\VIImIAMlJ; 'rowLEs, EUGENE L. TowLEs, A-ND GEORGE M. TOWLES,oE-LosANGELEs, CALIFORNIA.

WATER HEATER.

Application filednecein-berl22, 192-1. Serial No. 757,425.

This invention relates to water heaters, and in particular to the watercoils of socalled instantaneous heaters.

One of the objects of this. invention is to construct a heater so thatthe,water flows through several distinct though interconnecte coils,

other coils, all the several coils to be in one,

continuous communication from the inlet to the outlet.

Other objects will appear: from the following description and appendedclaims as well as from the accompanying drawing, in which the figure isa somewhat diagrammatical illustration in a vertical plane, partly, inside elevation, and partly in vertical mid sectional view, of a portionof a water heater.

From a.technical standpoint it is desirable t-hatthe-water is directedin a direction contrary to the direction of the passing of the productsof a heating medium. In particular,.if a gas burner or a heating mediumwith an open flame is used, the heat is normally most intense near theflame while it. gradually decreases in heating properties at pointsfurther away from the flame.

Vhether theflame is directed up anddown.

or in various directions is immaterial. .The most intense heat. isnormally always close to the source of the heat producing element, whileless intense heat is at points more (list-ant from such heat producingelement,

whether the most intensely heated pointsare,

at a higher or lower level, or whether the less intensely heatedpointsare at a higher or lower level;. isimmaterial A heating of watercan be most efliciently accomplished by directing the water in theopposite direction of theheat issuing from, any heat producin element. Y

A simp earrangement in aheatcr isillus: trated. A. burneris outlined at3, above, which a nuinber of coils are arranged. Assuming that gas isused in the burner, the products of combustion normally pass up wardlyaround, the coils. towards the top, The mostintense heat is-thereforedeveloped justabove the burner 3 near the lower te minations ofgthecoils at the point indicated at 4, while less intense heatcanbeexpected. near the upper termination of the coils at the pointindicatedat 5, the heatrforce of the products of" combustion from-the burner 23'naturally decreasing as it passes around the coils upwardly.

To accomplish a. most etlicient heating ofwater. in the several coils,as suggestedabove, the water is preferably passed or directed from theupper individual windings in; the several coils in a downward direction.through the lower windings of such coils.

The term Winding or windings will. hereafter be used in this applicationto in-. dicate one coil or winding in the several. distinct coils, andthe term coil will hereafter only be used for the several, Structureseach embodying several windings.

One coil is illustrated of conical form with. the wider winding at thebottom. as indicated at 6, and the narrower winding at thetop, asindicated at7. A Second coil is illustrated as of cylindrical form, asindicated at 8. A third distinct coil is illustrated as of conical form,with the wider winding at the top, as, is indicated at 9, and having thenarrower winding at the bottom, as. indicated at 10. A fourth distinctcoil, is illustrated as of fiat form extending practically over thewhole area below all the other coils, as indicated at.l1.

All these four distinct coils are interconnected so that acontinuouscommunication is maintained through the SOTiEill coils between a Waterinlet, indicated at 12, and. a

water outlet, indicated at 13. A portion of a housing is indicated at14, to inclose all the coils and. the burnersothat the products ofcombustion or the heatingr orce. may be. forced to surround the severalcoils in an upward direction, p

The inlet is shown as being in communication with the lower winding 6 ofthe larger or outer conical coil 15. This manner of connecting theheater has been established with some heaters, but it will easily beunderstood that the water inlet may communicate. first :witlrt he upper"winding-7 of the coil 15. if not straight across through the housing14. depending entirely on existing conditions in a heater or a heatercasing to provide the most pract' al construction in individual. orparticular ses'as they occur in the practice when thisinvention isapplied to already exis'ting lieaters'. The upper winding?cdrn'munication with the iipper' wind ing 17, ,asiindicated at 18. Thelowermost winding, 19,-1'of the'coil 8 is in communication 'with the.uppermost winding 0f fthej inner conical coil 21 th'roughan extrawinding- 22,, The lowermost winding l0.' of the coil 21isjincommunication with the coilflLas indicated at 23-. The fiat c0i l 11 incommunication with the water outlet, indicated at24. Under thisarrangement water passesthrough coil 8 in a downward direction contraryto the movements o'f thepiodnct's of combustion in this type otfivaterheateri By providingthe. extra short-cut winding 22'between the lowerwinding 19 ofthe coil Sand the npperwinding 9 of the coil 21 at 20,water is also directed to pass through the coil 21in a downwarddirection contrary to the upward passing of the productsof combustionfrom the burner 3. Theflat coil 'll in-the structure serves to-pass thewater, S0, far already heated in .theseveral coils, for the whole lengthotcoil 11 through the highest-heated 1 level Orstrata in tl ieheaterdirectly over the burner 3. H

Against thistorni'it inightloe argued that the outer coil 1'5'isi1ot'usedto the fullest extent since the \vateif'mustpass in an up I warddirection through this coil 15 from straight across from the upperwinding 7 through the housing-14 n a similar manner the lower windingf 6to. the ,upper winding 7,. thereby practically iollowing theheatingmedium, as the product's'of combustion from the-burner 3, n suchupward lIIGClZlOIL It I may be said that tlie lower winding 60f coil '15is subjected to the greater heating force oft-he productsot-combustion.and, as the heating force of the products of combustion decreaseswhil'e'the products, of combustion pass upwardly, the upper windings ofthe coil 15 are disposed so that the water passing through such coilscoi ld not very. well receive material heating over the heating:received in the lower coil 6.1

Tn heaters that hallo an inlet pipe as in'dicated at 12; ine'connectionwith the lower winding 6, such a straight connection may be preferable.I

The lower coil 11 serves always as a final heating coil for thethree-fold heated water from the other three coils.

It must be understood that thie'coils are illustrated in the drawing ofdifferent length merely for the purpose of giving a clear understandingof the interconnection of. the several coils, and that the coils may beof equal length. or the. inner coil may be longer than the outer coils,so that all coils termi nate in their upper ends in the same level,

' or the coils may he of difi'erent length in an entirely differentmanner.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: v

1. In a water heater, a conical water coil disposed with its widerwinding at the bottom and with the narrower winding at the top andprovided with a cool water supply connection, a second coil withwindings in a cylindrical form having communication with the first coil,a third coil of conical form with the wider winding disposed at the topand the narrower winding at the bottom having communication with thesecondnamed coil, the cylindrical coil being dis posed between the twoconical coils so as to form two comparatively equal passages on bothsides of the cylindrical coil wider at the bottom and narrower at thetop so as to assure an even heating of the central cylindrical coil, anda flat coil disposed transversely below the other three coils havingcommunication with the last-named coil and forming the Water outlet ofthis coil system.

2. In a water heater, a conical water'coil disposed with its widerwinding at the-bottom and with the narrower winding at the top andprovided with a cool water supply connection, a'second coil withwindings in a cylindrical torm having communication with thcfirst coil,a. third coil of conical form havingcommunication with the second-namcdcoil and being? di posed with the wider winding at the top and thenarrower winding at the bottom, the cylindrical coil being disposedbetween the two conical coils so as to form two comparatively equalpassages on both sides of the cylindrical coil wider at the bottom andnarrower at the top so as to assure an even heating of the centralcylindrical coil. a short-cut communicating pipe between the lowermostwinding of the second and the uppermost winding of the third-named coil,and a flat coil disposed transversely below the other .three coilshaving communication with the thirdnamed coil and forming the waterontlet'o'f this coil system. 1

In testimony that. we claim the foregoing as our invention we havesigned our names.

WILLIAM J. TOWLES. EUGENE L; ToWLEs. GEORGE M. TowLns

